20 Feb 2015

Last month, Anfield legend Steve Nicol urged Liverpool to sign Lyon goalscorer Alexander Lacazette, and with LFC reportedly favourites to sign him ahead Arsenal, ex-Reds boss Gerard Houllier has joined the growing number of admirers singing the striker's praises.

Speaking to ESPN this week, Houllier - who led Liverpool to a fantastic cup treble in 2001 - enthused:

"He [Lacazette] can be world-class if he keeps progressing and working on his talent.

"He's a very dedicated professional, so if he looks after himself and if he does the right thing, he can become really top notch."

According to BT Sport expert Julien Laurens, £25m-rated Lacazette is a perfect fit for Liverpool, and when asked recently about the striker's suitability for the Premier League, he told The Sport Review:

“Brendan Rodgers really likes him [Lacazette]. He likes those types of players that can play anywhere up front and with a lot of movement, so I think he could eventually fit in well there".

Nicol agrees, and in a January interview with ESPN, he insisted that Lacazette 'fits the mould that Liverpool are looking for', and strongly urged his old club to pursue the striker:

“Liverpool have an opportunity to sign this guy [Lacazette] and I think they should. He loves to go forward [and] score goals and he reminds me of [Luis] Suarez. I think this would be a superb signing".

With 32 goals/assists in 29 games, Lacazette - recently described as 'better than Gareth Bale' - is achieving Suarez/Sturridge-style creative stats this season, and given his speed, mobility, and finishing ability, he'd clearly be a logical signing for Liverpool.

However, with Luiz Adriano reportedly available for less than half of Lacazette's reputed £25m transfer fee, it could be more cost-effective for the Reds to sign the Brazilian instead. Both strikers are prolific, and fit Liverpool's style of play, but given the choice, which of the two is the best option?

We won't sign Laca, partly because we can't and because BR doesn't want to either. He knows we'll be bringing Origi, so why sign a Striker when you have 4-5 already? Unless he offloads Lambert and Borini, don't see it happening, and that would mean he'd most likely sell Balo too, and I don't think he wants that

It may be just a guess on my part but I'm already convinced by The Cassette, I think he's ready to take the next step and be a top player in England. If Liverpool have a chance to sign him then they should do whatever they can. 25 million quid is a perfectly good price for someone with that kind of creative return.